ICYMI news for women - Sept 14

No TL;DR. Just the facts, ma'am. Dozens of news articles in the last week alone that matter to women. Click your picks, ignore the bricks. We watch the news so you don't have to.

Sunday Snippets is a round-up of headlines about women’s health and lives from the past week that we haven’t covered in our regular posts. Snippets is a perk for our terrific paid subscribers, released two days later for all subscribers. It takes time — 10+ hours every week — to search for relevant news, add context and deeper dive links and get these news stories to you without ads or promotions. If you find this valuable, give us a shout-out with a❤️ or a share, or consider buying us a much needed espresso (or a snippet of wine?) or—definitely better yet—a paid subscription to support our work: we do it for you.

Here’s what’s in the news this week for women beyond the incredibly painful that we’ve all seen too much of—the rest of what’s impacting our health and lives, and the lives of those we love: Gum disease and…Alzheimer’s? Are you more at risk to wake up during surgery? Not a surprise for too many: Women receive less pain relief than men, pain relief for cesareans has been ‘incomplete,’ and Black women in particular receive less pain relief for birth—are things finally changing? Every single type of health insurance plan except one will cost more in 2026 unless Congress acts: shutdown alert. A simple OTC nasal spray that slashes the odds of getting COVID. Exercise that suppresses breast cancer growth. Raw oysters and a deadly disease. Hate mosquitoes? Don’t drink this. Gel manicures, nails and beauty sleep. Are oats a weight loss drug look alike? TikTok, women and birth control…and the danger of a CT scan prior to conception. More danger from Kennedy on multiple fronts; large states pulling out from CDC vaccine recommendations; could doctors strike? Femtech news and much more.

• Tip: If you hit a paywall here or anywhere, copy the URL of the article into archive.ph.¹

• See our “Why it matters” notes for context from our 30+ years in healthcare.

• Articles marked with an asterisk (*) are from professional journals.

• Disclaimer: Listing these headlines does not indicate a recommendation. With so many news items each week, we don’t take the time to review each. Use common sense and dig deeper into any issue that interests you. More on sources and bias.²

Our bodies

- In the news

• COVID cases are spiking again: Here’s a tracker.

  • OTC nasal spray cuts COVID cases by two thirds in trial.

    • Azelastine brand names.

• Experts urge Americans to know the signs of sepsis.

• The cause of Alzheimer’s could be coming within our mouths.

• Waking up under anesthesia: Who’s at risk and why. Being young or female is a “factor”—risk factor—but is that the cart or the horse?

  • Who’s more sensitive to pain, men or women? You may be surprised. (gift article)

  • Being young and female and having a C-section: the worst kind of ‘overlooked’ pain.

  • Not mentioned in this British study, but it’s well-recognized that * people of color also often receive inadequate anesthesia…again, the cart or the horse?

  • Black women get fewer epidurals for birth than white women, more often receive less pain relief.

  • Are doctors starting to take women’s pain more seriously?

• 30-Minute Exercise Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth by 30%, Study Shows.

  • * The study.

• Are gel manicures a harmless beauty trend or a health hazard? WSJ, that well-known women’s health journal, tiptoes into the nail salon.

  • What your nails say about your health.

• Beauty sleep isn’t a myth: Experts on how rest keeps skin healthy and youthful.

• * Health impacts of microplastic and nanoplastic exposure.

• Mosquitoes love beer drinkers.

- Trending

• Health insurance coverage costs are rearing a very ugly head. Led by changes from the budget bill that dump millions of Americans off Medicaid and let ACA tax credits die, traditional insurers are quickly also saying they need more money. The budget bill cuts have become a potential shutdown issue this month, forcing the overall discussion. If nothing changes, every type of plan except Medicare will be impacted: private insurance, employer-provided plans, ACA and Medicaid—and under the current administration, that’s all the excuse that will be needed to start talking reigning in Medicare costs, too.

  • ACA (used by many employers as well as millions of private individuals):

    • Millions facing skyrocketing health insurance costs unless Congress acts.

    • How much and why ACA plans are going up in 2026.

    • Florida: 2026 health insurance premiums set to double for millions.

  • Employer plans:

    • Employer share of health costs to eclipse $5K next year

    • Surging healthcare costs bode ill for employees next year.

    • Health care costs are soaring. Blame insurers, drug companies — and your employer.

    • Tariffs and obesity drugs: More reasons for health insurance increases.

  • Medicaid, after Congress cut 10M+ off a plan that pays for almost half of all births.

    • States face hard choices after major budget bill cuts to federal health care funding. (audio)

    • KFF: Medicaid enrollment and unwinding tracker.

• US life expectancy drops again: “An unhealthy and inequitable society.”

  • Why our health outcomes are the worst among wealthy nations: It’s not more care.

  • US ranks last among wealthy nations in reducing chronic disease.

• Thursday, the State Department said $10M in birth control destined for poor countries had been destroyed, “falsely suggesting” it would induce abortion.

  • Friday, the State Department retracted that: not destroyed. #whosonfirst

- Nutrition and exercise

• Vibrio and eating raw oysters: R months don’t matter anymore.

• Yoga asanas for PCOS, hormonal balance, and menstrual pain.

• Huge health study shows how plant-based diet protects against major disease.

• One heart-healthy fiber might have weight loss properties similar to Ozempic.

  • Food sources of beta glucan.

• Yes, it’s possible to eat too much protein. Here’s what happens.

• * Many women unaware of dietary impact on menopause symptoms.

Note we may group some articles in generational/lifestyle categories for easier reading, but generations don’t have a ‘hard stop’—they overlap. Also check femtech, below, for more news that can apply to your generation and interests.

- Gen Z and Millennials

• TikTok, women and contraceptives: Is the alternative any safer?

• * Gen Z: Increasing fertility anxiety.

• * More sobering news on frequently-used CT scans: CT scan within four weeks of pregnancy linked to increased risk of miscarriage and birth defects.

News impacting our health and lives, and those we love and guide

- RFK Jr’s HHS

• Deadly week follows CDC ending gun violence prevention research.

• Kennedy hearing deepens crisis: Why the CDC’s ability to protect public health is compromised.

• FDA researching ties between COVID vaccine and pregnancy risk and risk for kids, while considering narrower recommendations for 65+.

  • Intent alarms career scientists. (gift article)

• National children’s health strategy released, as Kennedy controversy intensifies.

  • “The world's richest country is making its children sick, knows it, and does not plan to do much about it. That is the unavoidable conclusion...”

• CDC to fund [yet another] study on debunked vaccine link to autism.

• Proposed cuts to NIH funding could hamper US for decades.

• RFK Jr. says public health agencies are on the decline. Here are 5 ways they’ve improved your health.

• Sen Cassidy calls on Kennedy to publicly support whooping cough vaccine amidst Louisiana outbreak.

• “Doctors make have to strike if Kennedy doesn’t resign.”

• Anyone who bought Kennedy’s hype should read this report.

• Editorial: Trump’s policies are endangering our health.

- More news

• Utah governor: Social media is a cancer on our society right now.

• How to avoid seeing disturbing content on social media and protect your peace of mind.

• 91 YO Gloria Steinem (in jeans) takes on the gap in women’s healthcare funding from her living room—the room where it’s still happening. (gift article)

• 8 phrases to help your relationship thrive. (gift article)

• Protecting the 58% of US farms with a female producer.

• A single datapoint at age 7 could predict how long someone will live.

• Simplify life: Get your own EA.

- Trending

• With CDC in flux, states clash over vaccine rules.

  • California breaks with CDC, to follow COVID vaccine guidelines from medical groups. Why this matters: California is the fourth largest economy in the world; that’s a lot of buying power bucking the CDC.

  • NJ joins other NE states expanding access to updated COVID vaccine.

• They want COVID shots to protect their health or family. They can't get them.

  • CVS map: Where Rx is needed for COVID vaccine.

• California could be latest state to mandate tobacco-style health labels on social media.

• FL doctors seek public airing before state drops child vaccine requirements. Why this matters: Florida’s rogue surgeon general has proposed dropping all childhood vaccine requirements, this Harvard-educated physicians says, no, he didn’t use data to look at the potential public health impact. There’s no sign of any doctor who agrees; the public hearing is their only chance.

• LA Dept of Public Health sounds alarm on kraton deaths.

• Despite threats, mail order abortion meds aren’t slowing down.

• Drugged driving from prescriptions, cannabis quietly become dangerous road hazard.

Deeper dives | policy

• What’s really wrong with healthcare costs: We’re throwing money away on the wrong thing.

• If mental health experts can’t identify murderers, what’s the back-up plan?

  • US has same percentage of mental health issues as 40 other countries but we’re 20 x more likely to do from gun violence.

• US and state-by-state child health coverage trends.

• Study: Global differences in balancing health and economy during pandemic.

Femtech and women’s health innovation

We’re way past time for innovation in women’s health, and Femtech is hoping to fill the gap. Don’t miss this free post with tips on investing in women’s health and see more about why investors are excited, but also why femtech can be the new Wild West. And see more about why we have a special section on femtech.³

• Melinda French Gates backs $100M on “chronically underfunded” women’s health breakthroughs, pain relief.

• Diana Health raises $55M for expansion.

• Him & Hers stock tumbles as the FDA issues a warning about marketing of unapproved [compounded] weight loss drugs.

• Life Line Screening expands offerings with new men’s and women’s health & wellness screening packages.

• Urine test shows promise for cervical cancer screening.

1. Archive.ph is a web archiving service that captures and preserves snapshots of web pages. If it’s a lesser-known site or if the article is very popular, it could take a few minutes to load, but it generally works very well—including, BTW, forwarding posts to Canada or other countries wisely concerned about some of our US media.

2. Sources: We check both public and professional news sites, with click-throughs for sources. We tend to go straight to the original info more than the interpretation of popular magazines and blogs, as we’ve found the latter do not always correctly interpret medical science information. Medical editors are becoming rare. We give you the news directly, including the primary studies when available, and leave you to your interpretation.

Bias: We’ve been in women’s and children’s health for over three decades as providers, international consultants, and health system execs. If you’re in healthcare, with few exceptions, women’s and children’s services are not where you make money; those services are more often loss leaders. From policy to research to reimbursement for providers, women and children are second rate citizens, absolutely related to the historical perception of monetary value. So, you probably won’t be surprised to understand we do not lean politically right on women’s health. We are center left but fair: we do not misrepresent data, and we do scan information from neutral and both center-left and center-right sites. If you’re wondering about media bias, check it on AllSides. We do.

3. We have a special section on femtech for three reasons: While not all femtech is created equal, outside investors—now finally often led now by women—are stepping up in a major way to fill the huge hole that traditional medical research is still neglecting and will worsen under Trump and Kennedy’s NIH that classifies women’s health research as DEI. Second, many of us have never invested specifically in women’s health but are in a position now to do so—if not us, then who? Finally, it’s a good eye-opener to those of us who have been dulled to the possibility of better after decades of often insensitive and boringly predictable care. Femtech views that neglect as opportunity.